Gumercindo Saraiva
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Gumercindo Saraiva (
Arroio Grande Arroio Grande (Portuguese meaning the big stream) is a Brazilian municipality in the southern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The population is 18,238 (2020 est.) in an area of 2513.60 km². Its second industry is agriculture which wa ...
, January 13, 1852 – Carovi, Capão do Cipó, August 10, 1894) was a Brazilian soldier, being one of the commanders of the rebel troops known as '' maragatos'', during the
Federalist Revolution The Federalist Revolution ( Portuguese: ''Revolução Federalista'') was a civil war that took place in southern Brazil between 1893 and 1895, fought by the federalists, opponents of Rio Grande do Sul state president, Júlio de Castilhos, seeki ...
.


The beginning of the revolution

In 1892, the Government of
Júlio Prates de Castilhos Júlio is a Portuguese masculine given name. The equivalent in Spanish is Julio. The diminutive form is Julinho, as in Júlio César Teixeira known as Julinho, a Brazilian footballer. See also *Julio (disambiguation) *Julio (given name) *Julio ( ...
entered a period of instability. With the state of
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
at a boiling point, the Federalist Revolution was starting, with rebel troops being led by the general João Nunes da Silva Tavares, known as Joca Tavares. Saraiva decided to flee to Uruguay, where the rebel troops were gathering, after having refused to join the loyalist troops. On February 2, 1893, accompanied by his brother
Aparicio Saravia Aparicio Saravia da Rosa (August 16, 1856 – September 10, 1904) was a Uruguayan politician and military leader. He was a member of the Uruguayan National Party and was a revolutionary leader against the Uruguayan government. Early life H ...
and leading about 400 mounted troops, he crossed the border in a small town called Serrilhada, entering Rio Grande do Sul and joining the men of general Joca Tavares, thus forming the Liberator Army, a contingent of more than 3000 men. Shortly, newcomers inflated the number of rebel troops to 12,000. Reportedly another of Gumercindo's brothers, Mariano, also took part in this revolt. In Uruguay, the three Saraiva brothers were known as ''the three of Cerro Largo''. On April 4, 1893, the first battle against loyalist troops occurred. After several skirmishes with Government forces, realizing his disadvantage, Gumercindo Saraiva resorted to guerrilla tactics, with moderate success.


The Maragatos go north

Gumercindo Saraiva and his troops headed for
Dom Pedrito Dom Pedrito is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located at: 30° 58' 58" S 54° 40' 22" W Nearby cities are: Rosário do Sul, São Gabriel, Lavras do Sul, Bagé, Santana do Livramento and República Oriental do Uru ...
. From there they began a series of attacks against various regions of the state, destabilizing the positions held by loyalists. Then they headed north, advancing in November to Santa Catarina and Paraná, with detainees arriving at the city of Lapa, 60 kilometers southwest of
Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...
, and besieging it. On this occasion, colonel
Gomes Carneiro Antônio Ernesto Gomes Carneiro (November 28, 1846 – February 9, 1894) was a Brazilian army officer and veteran of the Paraguayan War. Antônio Ernesto Gomes Carneiro fought on the side of the Republican government in the Federalist Revolution, ...
, a loyalist officer, died in February 1894 without surrendering his position to the besiegers, in the episode which became known as the
Siege of Lapa The siege of Lapa was a military confrontation involving the Brazilian Army, the National Guard, the Military Police of Paraná state and civilian volunteers, which took place during the Federalist Revolution in early 1894. The city of Lapa beca ...
. Admiral Custódio de Melo, leading the armed uprising against president
Floriano Peixoto Floriano Vieira Peixoto ( 30 April 1839 – 29 June 1895), born in Ipioca (today a district of the city of Maceió in the State of Alagoas), nicknamed the "Iron Marshal", was a Brazilian soldier and politician, a veteran of the Paraguay ...
, joined the federalists and occupied the city of Desterro, currently Florianópolis. From there he went to Curitiba, where he met Saraiva. The resistance of Lapa prevented the advancement of the rebels. Gumercindo, unable to advance, retreated to Rio Grande do Sul. He died on August 10, 1894, after being hit by a bullet while recognizing the terrain on the eve of the battle of Carovi.


Back to the pampas

After the fall of Lapa, Saraiva headed to Curitiba, finding it completely unguarded. He then left to
Ponta Grossa Ponta Grossa () is a municipality in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. The estimated population is 355,336 according to official data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and it is the 4th most populous city in Paraná ...
, where he faced government troops who had received reinforcements from
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, forcing him to retreat, beginning the withdrawal and return to Rio Grande do Sul, now beset by government troops. Marching through three states, since his departure from
Jaguarão Jaguarão () is a municipality in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul located on the shores of the Jaguarão River, bordering Uruguay. It lies a short distance inland from the Mirim Lagoon. Geographical and historical proximity to ...
until the his return to the south, Gumercindo Saraiva and his troops traveled more than 3,000 km on horseback. On June 27, 1894 he faced his last great battle. On 10 August he was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest, before the start of the battle of Carovi, the place became known as Capão da Batalha, today in the municipality of Capão do Cipó. In a war of atrocities on both sides, two days after Saraiva was buried in the cemetery of Santo Antônio de Capuchinhos, currently in the municipality of Itacurubi, his body was removed from the grave and had his head cut off and taken in a hatbox to governor Júlio de Castilhos. His body was later taken and buried in the municipal cemetery of
Santa Vitória do Palmar Santa Vitória do Palmar (lit. "Saint Victoria of the Palms") is a Brazilian city and municipality. It is the southernmost municipality in Brazil, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. To the west of the municipality is the Lagoa Mirim and ...
, without the head.


The consequences of the withdrawal of Gumercindo

With the arrival of Saraiva's troops to Desterro and Curitiba, government troops fled the cities, abandoning their positions and retreated, leaving only a few soldiers in the rear and the population abandoned to fend for themselves. In both cities, the political elite, merchants and industrialists, in order to avoid lootings, killings and rapes, decided to make a deal with Saraiva. In this deal it was decided that the rebel troops would respect an agreement of non-violence and in exchange the population would pay a war tribute. The deal was established and the population was spared. But the Federalists, after successive struggles, were defeated and, with the return of the legal troops, a bloody retaliation tool place. This retaliation was in response to successive actions of extremism by the federalists led by Gumercindo Saraiva, which were marked by scenes of brutality: In Curitiba, on the imminence of the attack, the people turned to the Ildefonso Pereira Correia, former Baron of Serro Azul, as no other leader inspired confidence. The Government was disorganized. A governing junta was formed under the leadership of Ildenfonso Correia, able to contain the excesses of an unpoliced and dazed city. A loan of war was created and negotiations were held with Gumercindo regarding the invasion of Curitiba. The same happened in Desterro, where the Manoel de Almeida Coelho da Gama Lobo d'Eça, former Baron of Batovi, presided over a tumultuous and historic meeting held on 29 September 1893, during which it was decided for capitulation against the rebel ships, which were mutinied against the vice-president of the Republic, which was in the office of President, Floriano Peixoto. Batovi didn't do but to surrender to the demands of the inhabitants of Desterro which were terrified and suddenly involved in the conflict. In defense of the government of the Republic, president Floriano named and sent to Santa Catarina the fiery lieutenant colonel of the army Antônio Moreira César. At the same time troops of colonel Pires Ferreira occupied Curitiba, which was abandoned by the rebels. The commander of the military district, general Francisco Raimundo Ewerton Quadros, imposed martial law. In Paraná dozens of people, including civilians and soldiers, were executed summarily. In Santa Catarina that number rose to about 300 people.


Bibliography

*GOYCOCHEA, Luiz Felipe Castilhos. ''Gumercindo Saraiva na Guerra dos Maragatos.'' Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Alba, 1943. *MEIRINHO, Jali. ''República e Oligarquias: subsídios para a História Catarinense, 1899–1934.'' Florianópolis: Insular, 1997. *CAVALARI, Rossano Viero. ''O Ninho dos Pica-paus-Cruz Alta na Revolução Federalista de 1893''. Porto Alegre:Martins Livreiro Editor, 2001. {{Authority control 1852 births 1894 deaths Brazilian revolutionaries